Turning Tides (Elements, Book 3) Page 5

  Today, most of the island was at Great-grandmother’s, leaving the town center nearly silent. I stopped at the empty coffee shop to make myself a cup of tea. While it steeped, I dialed Simon, hoping for news that would lessen the ball of anxiety taking root in my stomach. The call went straight to voicemail.

  I muttered a few uncomplimentary things about black cats who weren’t nearly as forthcoming as they ought to be, then stretched my magic toward the canals, seeking balance in the water. When I felt ready to face the day, I headed east.

  After the silence of town, the transportation center was surprisingly busy. At least ten people struggled with large suitcases while arguing with the pilot, who was trying to explain that he had as much money as they did, thank you very much, and would not be bribed into taking them off the island so long as a travel embargo was in place.

  I sidled over to Robin, a third cousin who’d been tracking everyone coming on and off the island for as long as I could remember. It was a volunteer position, one I thought she chose because it allowed her to spend all day with her feet on the desk, a romance novel in one hand and a never empty mug of coffee in the other. As she was one of the few waters capable of keeping detailed records, everyone was grateful for her dedication.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  She grinned at the sight of me, the smile cutting across slightly weathered skin. She was a quarter elemental—strong enough to live on an enclave, but still prone to a few human weaknesses, like aging. She was blond like the rest of us, but a slightly darker shade, and I thought she might be the only water on the island with hips worth noticing. There was a medium-sized shed behind her that doubled as an office, but I’d never seen Robin sitting anywhere but her outside desk.

  As I approached, she bookmarked her place in her latest novel and set it aside. “Aidan! Glad you stopped by. I was hoping to see you before you left for good.”

  “It looks like I’m here for three more days. Still no flights out?”

  She made a face. “Unfortunately. These fools here seem to think they’re in danger, and they’re acting like such idiots I’d be plenty happy to get them off the island. I know we’re supposed to assume everyone’s a suspect until your friend is convicted, but that seems like a lot of bother to me. No offense.”

  I offered a noncommittal noise. I wasn’t offended, but I didn’t welcome the reminder that most weren’t viewing this as an “innocent until proven guilty” situation.

  I studied the panicked waters and saw no familiar faces. At least it wasn’t my relatives trying to flee for their lives. Visitors, then, come to witness the trial. “They know how elemental magic works, right? Sera can’t stretch her murderous claws across the island.”

  “I’m not sure there’s a lot of thinking going on at the moment. Still, you how how waters are. As unpredictable as they are fickle. They’ll find something new to panic about in an hour or two.”

  I wasn’t so sure. This wasn’t a typical situation, and I didn’t think we could count on normal behavior.

  As if to prove my point, three people decided arguing was getting them nowhere and dropped their suitcases, rushing up the stairs and into the plane. It was the possession is nine-tenths of the law approach to winning an argument.

  The pilot rolled his eyes and left the pier, the plane’s keys presumably safely on his person.

  Robin shook her head and sipped her coffee. “If they want to sit and try to will the plane to take off, I’m just going to leave them be. Now Aidan, what can I do for you?”

  As I watched, five more people pushed their way onto the six-seater plane. “I was hoping to get on that plane this afternoon. That’s not going to happen, is it?”

  An emphatic snort was my only answer. “What’s your hurry? You’ll be gone soon enough.” She actually sounded sad about it.

  “Oh, people to meet, more unbreakable elemental laws to flout. You know how it is.”

  “You shouldn’t joke,” she admonished, though she didn’t seem offended.

  “I shouldn’t have done a lot of things. That’s why I’m in my current situation.” I glanced at the neat pile of paperwork on her desk, kept from flying loose by a heavy black rock. “Hey, could I get a copy of the flight list? Everyone who’s on the island right now. Boats, too.”

  “Sure thing.” She rifled through the papers, pulling out the records from the last week. She disappeared into the shed, and I heard the groan of an ancient copy machine being summoned to life. A minute later, Robin returned with a thin folder in hand. “This should do it. You really think someone else killed Edith? Not your friend?” She sounded more curious than disbelieving.

  “I think it’s worth looking into all options.” I tucked the folder into my bag. “Thanks for the help, Robin.” She smiled, eyes already darting back to her book. I left her to her tale of rugged and misunderstood Highlanders.

  I had eight hours before I was supposed to be in Seattle, no idea how to get there and even less idea how to begin clearing Sera’s name. During my brief time working with Carmichael and Johnson, they’d taught me a thing or two about how to approach an investigation. List the suspects. Gather facts. See the big picture. I hadn’t done any of that yet.

  The folder in my bag was a place to start, at least. I could return to the cottage, share it with Sera, and attempt to form an actual plan.

  Five hundred feet from our cottage, I passed one of the guest houses that had been emptied the night before. Though travel was limited to the other side of the island, where Robin could track it, this house reached far enough into the ocean to double as a dock. A decrepit rowboat and a modest houseboat were tied to its stilts. The houseboat looked new, and I wondered if it was intended as an additional guest accommodation.

  I stared at the dock, a truly terrible idea forming.

  “Planning your prison break?”

  I turned to see David at my side, the empty camera box in one hand.

  “What gave it away?”

  “Something about the longing look and evil grin. Gives it away every time.” He glanced to his left and right, then lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Also, I know how you feel.”

  “What, an island full of drunken waters isn’t your idea of a good time?”

  He shook his head in disbelief. It was the standard reaction when someone met my aunts for the first time. “I noticed you weren’t partaking much last night. Are you sure you’re related?”

  “When I drink, I tend to miss things, and that’s not an option right now. When this whole thing is over, I’ll down a glass or ten, I promise.”

  David handed me the empty box. “Speaking of not missing things, the camera is up. Sera won’t be able to step outside without it being captured. I set it to wide angle, too, so the windows are in the frame. If anything else happens, she’ll have an unbreakable alibi.”

  I took the box and studied the image on the front. It was your bog-standard motion sensing camera, the kind I’d become all too familiar with recently. “Thanks. Where does the footage go?”

  “There’s an SD card in there, and if something happens to that, there’s a wireless backup drive. Who should have access to that?”

  “My mother. Fiona.”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “You’re being so helpful. Like you think Sera might be innocent.”

  “Is that a problem?” His brows knit, and it wasn’t a rhetorical question. I hadn’t known many stones in my life, but they rarely wasted words.

  “No. It’s just unusual in the current climate.”

  David stared at the ocean, and I waited. Okay, I bit my lip, counted to ten, and forced myself not to speak before he replied, but I also waited.

  “I’ve known fires,” he said at last. “They’re hot-headed, but they also have tremendous control. I can’t see one of them losing it and causing an explosion in front of dozens of witnesses. It just doesn’t feel right.”

  Something inside me unknotted at his word
s. It wasn’t much support, but it was more than I’d had five minutes ago. “I appreciate you doing this,” I said, holding up the box.

  He shook his head, waving off my thanks. “It’s good to be useful.”

  “Are you and Lana planning on staying long?” I worked hard to keep the hope from my voice, and when he shook his head I worked even harder to keep the smile from my face. Lana—or what she knew about me—was simply too dangerous to be around the old ones. The sooner she and David were off the island, the sooner I could relax and just worry about little things like my best friend’s murder charge.

  “A few more days. We’ll leave once the embargo is lifted. I’m eager to get some rocks under my feet, but Lana’s enjoying herself too much. I can’t blame her, I guess. There aren’t many places in the world like this.”

  “Someday, you’re going to have to explain how a calm, staid stone ended up with a flighty water.”

  He gave me a small, close-mouthed smile, but it was genuine. This crazy man truly liked Lana. “I’ll tell you as soon as I figure it out. Maybe over one of those ten glasses of wine.”

  “Deal.”

  He kept staring at the water. With no warning, his placid stone expression distorted into shock and confusion. “What the…?” He took long strides to the water, face darkening with every step.

  I walked after him, my gaze following his own.

  Then, I started running.

  A black speedboat pulled away from the rear of the house. There were two figures in the boat. One was Sera, struggling to free herself from the driver. He steered with his left hand while keeping his right arm locked tightly around her waist. It was a familiar figure, a man with an average height and build that belied the power he wielded. A man with the same bronze skin and dark hair and eyes as the woman in his arms.

  Josiah Blais. Sera’s father—and mine.

  I didn’t think. I didn’t give the anger time to build and interfere with my water magic. I gave into the fear instead, the panicked certainty that I would lose my best friend if I didn’t act. Our father loved us, in his way, but his pathological need to protect both his daughters meant Sera would be locked in a chamber somewhere on her family’s Hawaiian compound and not released until Josiah had eliminated everyone who dared threaten his daughter’s life.

  It wasn’t the first time he’d tried that maneuver.

  They were moving fast. In a matter of seconds, they’d be out of range.

  I flung the magic from my body. It flew toward the boat, grabbing molecules of water as it rushed toward the target. I didn’t bother with finesse. I just needed enough power to force an enormous wave into the escaping boat, and I had more than enough control to do that.

  The water crashed over the speedboat, filling the hull and seeping into the electronic controls. The boat sputtered and paused, but it didn’t stop. The engine had too much horsepower to give up so easily.

  I dove into the ocean, calling my magic back and demanding it push me through the water at unnatural speeds. The water fed off my desperation until I was nearly as fast as the speedboat. I only needed to delay them for a few seconds, just long enough to reach Sera.

  I begged the magic to fly toward the boat. I felt the water molecules attach, felt the control in my fingers. I pictured the magic spinning, turning in faster and faster circles until a whirlpool began to form, one capable of swallowing the boat whole.

  I didn’t know if Josiah could swim. I didn’t much care, either.

  The engine roared, trying to escape the ravenous water, but whichever direction it turned, the whirlpool followed, relentlessly pulling it down. From my position under the water, I saw the moment the boat gave up the fight. It was sucked under the waves, along with its passengers.

  I released the whirlpool and raced for Sera. She was still in Josiah’s arms. He stared at me through the water, unmoved. He wouldn’t let her drown, I knew. He was counting on the fact that I wouldn’t either, and was waiting for me to save them both.

  Most people move slowly under water, their muscles unable to work at full speed with the ocean’s weight pressing against their bodies.

  I wasn’t most people. I pulled back my right arm and punched Josiah hard in the nose.

  His head jerked back, and his grip lessened. I hit him again, enjoying it probably more than I should. I wasn’t strong, but I had my element on my side. Plus, I hated this man, and it’s staggering how much fuel hatred provides.

  The second time, he flew a foot backwards through the water, releasing Sera. I grabbed her arms and wrapped them around my neck, giving her an underwater piggyback ride, then burst upwards. It wasn’t far to the surface, but I only stayed above the water long enough to ask her a question.

  “Can you make it a hundred feet?” She tapped my shoulder in silent assent. I dove with her, then raced toward the shore.

  We emerged from the water. Sera crawled onto the shore on her hands and knees, gasping for air. I only felt recharged. With the crisis over, anger blossomed in my gut, a sure sign that my fire wasn’t far behind. I kept my magic in the water, drawing on its power until I felt something akin to calm. Well, in the general neighborhood of calm. Maybe the same zip code.

  Once I confirmed that Sera was safe, I turned back to the water. A dark head moved in our direction. It seemed he could swim, after all. Without the magical boost, it would take Josiah longer to reach the island, but he’d make it.

  David still stood on the shore, watching Josiah swim toward us. I don’t think his position or expression had changed since we’d first spotted the boat. I spoke his name twice before he seemed to notice I was there.

  “You saw that, right? Sera had the chance to escape and turned it down. Maybe this will buy us some good will, if you tell the council.” He nodded, but his expression was so distant I wondered if he’d heard a thing I said. “Can you get them? The council and my family? They should be here for this. The council’s staying with my Grams, in the red brick house.”

  He gave one terse nod, then took off for the other side of the island at a run.

  While we spoke, Sera pulled herself upright. She still looked worn, but the steel behind her eyes told me she hadn’t even begun to fight yet.

  “If we return to the cottage, what are the odds he’ll burn down the house?” I asked.

  “If he does, I’ll stop him.” Sera might have only been three-quarters fire to Josiah’s full-blooded status, and a fraction of his age, but the set of her chin told me she’d find a way.

  I nodded, seeing no better option. “Let’s get inside and wait for the cavalry. I have a feeling things are about to get ugly, and I’d rather you not be accused of whatever havoc that man is about to unleash.”

  Together, we stepped inside our temporary home and bolted every door, and I pretended those small metal locks would keep the world at bay for a bit longer.

  More than that, I pretended Josiah’s presence didn’t mean things had just gotten far worse.

  “Should we open the door? Tell them our side of the story?”

  Sera pulled back the curtain just enough to observe the confrontation happening outside our front door. Josiah stood nose to nose with four council members, my grandmother, and my very pissed off mother. While we couldn’t make out individual words, their raised voices and emphatic gestures told me this was not a calm discussion.

  “Why would we do that? It would just invite that whole mess inside.”

  She had a point.

  “Should we make popcorn?”

  One side of her mouth lifted. “No, look. They’ve reached a decision.”

  She was right. Though Josiah still pointed toward us, he was moving away. I wasn’t so naive as to think he was giving in. There was a spring to his step that suggested he was exactly where he wanted to be, and this had been his plan all along. For once, I took some comfort in Deborah Rivers’s presence, along with the rest of the council. On her own, Deborah might be a match for Josiah. In combination with so many other full
s, Josiah could actually be contained.

  Of course, even a contained Josiah was more dangerous than a human with an AK-47, a belt full of grenades, and laser beam eyes. I wasn’t going to relax anytime soon, particularly as no one was giving him a one-way ticket off the island. In fact, they appeared to be inviting him to stay in one of the other guest cottages, or perhaps the houseboat just behind it.

  I swore. “Oh, hell no.”

  “What?”

  “I’ll be right back.” I stepped outside and slammed the door before she could ask any more questions. It was poor form to take advantage of her inability to leave the cottage. I planned to feel quite bad about it later, but first I had to get Josiah far away from the dock.

  I ran up to my parents. They turned at my approach. My mother looked concerned, my father pleased. I disliked that.

  “He’s not staying? Tell me he’s not staying.”

  “Aidan,” he scolded, “I do wish you hadn’t interrupted me earlier. I’d have thought you would want Serafina rescued.”

  In Josiah’s world, there was little distinction between being rescued and being stolen away to Hawaii and locked in his compound for a decade or two. “I’d rather prove her innocence so she can have her freedom again. And since she’s not leaving with you, there’s no reason for you to stay on the island. So, you know. Bye.”

  The look he gave me suggested I was being disappointingly slow. “Aidan, you know I would never leave a daughter of mine to fend for herself.” I didn’t miss his double meaning.

  “You can’t stay. I don’t want you here.”

  The council’s eyebrows raised as one, curious why I’d have such a strong reaction to my friend’s father.

  “He’ll try to take her again,” I explained. “We can’t prove she’s innocent if she’s not here.”